ASK 5 K

Yesterday I participated in the ASK 5K for one of my students. She is in first grade and this is her second battle with Leukemia. Unfortunately she was not there because she had to go into the hospital for chemo but she did face time with us right after we started the run. Although it is terrible and every single one of us wishes this was not happening and no child should ever have to go through what she has and is going through, she has an amazing and supportive family on her side. She made it through this once, she will beat it again. I pray that after that it never comes back.

Teachers are not supposed to play favorites, but E is one of my favorites. Her aunt and I have been friends since third grade so I've known E before there was an E. She's a bright and happy little girl who makes my day better every time I see her at school. We joke around a lot. She loves art. I miss seeing her happy face and can't wait to give her a big hug when she comes back to school. 

I had to push B in the stroller and since there were no starting waves, I spent most of the time walking with the group. Initially I had wanted to run but it was such a huge cluster of people and since I started with the walkers, there was no way I was going to be running unless I knocked people out of my way. When we hit the start of mile 3, the crowd did clear enough for me to get through and run a bit, so I ran most of the last mile. From this experience I learned that I will not be running with the jogger in a race if I can avoid it. It's tough to dodge people and the stroller is pretty heavy and takes that much more effort. But I had fun and I am glad I did it. It was for E.

B man got his own medal at the end! It's that yellow ribbon in his hand. He put it around his neck all by himself! He promptly wanted to take it off five minutes later though.

I don't know what race I will do next yet, but I do know that I need to keep up with the running. The pollen has been horrible this past week and has kept me indoors and I can tell that my legs are losing all I gained while training for the 10K. A few gym trips and dates with the treadmill may be in my future this week.

7 month check up

I meant to post this when he turned 6 months but time totally got away from me, so here is my 7 month check up!

I can't believe my baby is 7 months old already! Time really does fly. No one lies about that.

It's been a good seven months, a bit stressful at times, but good overall. We have a really great baby. He sleeps through the night and is so amazingly happy. He has two teeth coming in and the weekend that they broke through was a little rough but it was not nearly as bad as it could have been-or so I have heard. He was just a bit more fussy than is normal for him. He chews on everything and is into everything. At restaurants he wants to sit up and look at everything and touch everything. He started crawling "army man" style-using his arms to drag his body. This week he started using a leg too. Seeing him grow and meet these little mile stones is such a joy. Being a parent is amazing.

I mean seriously, how do you get over that much cuteness??

He was a parrot for Halloween ;-)

How am I doing? I went back to work in mid-October and it has been an adjustment. Being at work is fine and it was a smooth transition since I already know all the students and most days it actually feels good to be back. The kids missed me and were so excited to see me, it made me feel pretty good :-) My body and brain can fully function with little sleep now and with the help of a cup of coffee I perk up pretty quick. Getting up early isn't so bad once you have the routine down. It is also nice to get adult interaction during the day that isn't limited to my husband or tied into baby things.

The hard part is not having time left in the day for anything else. It's a struggle to get normal things done like keep the house clean or do the laundry. And you can forget reading a book or a magazine, browsing the internet and running. I have been able to get out of work on time and head to the gym for a little bit here and there. I worked a little with a personal trainer and she gave me a good strength training routine that I can do on my own in the gym without being locked into a class time. Although I really enjoy the classes that my gym offers, I don't think I will be taking any of them anytime soon. My knee bothered me for over 2 weeks after the 8K. Of course I am thinking the worst but I really need to get to a doctor and figure out what is going on and make it better. I really want to avoid having knee surgery at any point in my life.

Speaking of the knee injury, because of it I have not been able to run. A big part of me is wondering if my running days are done and this gives me a myriad of emotions that I cannot even express. Running has become such a huge part of who I am, I cannot imagine who I would be without it. It would be like someone taking away my artistic abilities. I would be utterly lost.

So that's where I am at the moment. Gearing up for Christmas and hoping I can hit the pavement again soon. 

Glow Run RVA 5K at Maymont

This past Saturday was the first ever Glow Run RVA at Maymont. It was a 5K. It kind of kicked my butt.

I haven't run anything since last October and I thought this would be a good way to break back into races. It was a good way to start after being out of the game for so long, but I had forgotten exactly what makes a "fun run". Fun run means lots of walkers...and kids. Now I have no problem with kids, but they kind of get in the way when you are trying to actually run. The first mistake I made was to start near the back of the pack. There were no corrals since this race was so small, so everyone just clumped together and I actually had to walk to the start line and then past it before I could start running. The "glow" part of it was kind of fun too. We got glow sticks to wear and they had colored lights on the trees and along some of the paths.  Here's what I figured out during this race:

The good stuff:
-running through Maymont
-running in the evening
-it was short

The bad stuff:
-lots of kids
-lots of walkers
-kids stopping in front of you to pick up dropped glow sticks
-HILLS.


Walking through the start!

Overall it was a fun race but not one that you would try to set a new PR during. The hills in Maymont are killer and the paths are pretty narrow so you cannot pass people very easily. On the upside, if you are from RVA you know how this city loves Maymont and what it means to us and it was cool to see it in a different way. Also, one good thing is that you did not have to run down to the Japanese gardens and back up. That might have killed me.

My favorite thing about this race was my new fan! B came to his first race to see his mommy run! It was awesome to see B & C on the sidelines and it will be even more fun when he can see and understand what is going on around him.

My littlest fan!

I already signed up for the HCA 8K in the fall that goes with the marathon. After this past weekend I know I won't be ready to start training for a half in the fall so that will have to wait for the spring. I'm excited to take it easy though and to be running again!

Thank You

This post is dedicated to my husband.

I've mentioned several times before that he is my rock. He's proven that over and over before and during this pregnancy, and especially in the last few weeks. 

He was at my side for every fertility appointment and procedure.

He's been at every ultrasound and at the important doctor appointments-there's a lot so I gave him a pass on the boring ones :-)

I haven't had many insane cravings but on the nights that I've been like, "I need to have this" he's had no complaints.

In the last 2 weeks when my feet blew up and I can no longer reach them, he's helped me get on my socks and shoes and willingly helps me get on the awesome compression socks in the morning before work.

The poor guy has even been sleeping on the couch because my pregnancy induced snoring keeps him awake. :-( I feel really bad about this one. I've tried nose strips and humidifiers but nothing seems to help reduce the snoring and I hate it when he sleeps on the couch. Hopefully the snoring will go away once the baby is here...and yes I am aware that neither of us will be getting any sleep when he is here anyways but at least it won't be me keeping him awake any more.

I can't begin to imagine how women do this on their own or with a non-supportive partner. You feel awful in the beginning, decent in the middle and the end completely sucks. I am so thankful that I have a husband that is so helpful and caring. It really makes a huge difference and makes the experience so much more enjoyable.

So thank you C, for everything. I know we will make a great parenting team. :-)